This invention relates generally to toolboxes, and more specifically to toolboxes designed for automotive vehicles.
Power tools are all the rage today for people who build things. The popularity of power tools comes from the time and physical effort that they save. For example, not too long ago, people used a brace and bit to drill a hole. The brace and bit required a worker to turn the bit in a circular motion by hand. Today, power drills bore holes in a manner than is both faster and less tiring. Similar accolades can be said for power screwdrivers.
Power tools are especially popular with people who work in the construction industry. For people building houses, tools are often used continuously during the day. A power drill or nail gun can save hundreds of hours and countless muscle aches in any given year. The main complaint that construction professionals have with power tools, however, is battery capacity. Nothing is more frustrating than getting positioned on top of a 50-story high rise only to find that the battery in your screwdriver is dead.
As batteries for power tools are typically large, nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries, they typically take several hours to charge. Typical prior art battery chargers connect a wall outlet to the tool with some form of power conversion. A primary drawback to these chargers is that a power tool user must have access to a conventional power grid. If he is working in a remote location, this may not be possible. A construction professional may lose valuable compensation if his work is delayed due to battery recharging.
Other prior art charging systems include cigarette lighter adapters, where a tool can be connected to an automotive cigarette lighter adapter. The problem with these systems is that most professionals have multiple power tools while most production vehicles have only one cigarette lighter. With the crackdown on tobacco, some vehicles now come with no cigarette lighter. Another problem is that many tools with many cables can become tangled and unwieldy.
There is thus a need for a better charging system.